This is a surprisingly compelling dramatisation of the uncertain weeks after the 2000 US presidential election (George W Bush versus Al Gore), when the final result depended on a series of ballot recounts in Florida. Kevin Spacey leads the cast as the Democrats' legal adviser, Ron Klain, and Tom Wilkinson and John Hurt provide gravitas as party grandees James Baker III and Warren Christopher. Laura Dern's Golden Globe-winning turn as Katherine Harris (the self-serving Secretary of State for Florida who became a laughing stock) lifts the tone from earnest reconstruction to something more outrageous - in line with director Jay Roach's previous work (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents). A nifty script and consistently winning performances manage to introduce genuine tension and intrigue to an episode whose outcome is all-too-well known. Don't expect political balance, though: it's clear whom the film-makers consider the baddies to be.